Notice: This is a fan fiction of based upon the stories in Lilith Langtree’s “Comics RetCon Universe”. The story is mine, but some of the characters are not. White Queen, Mystique, Wolverine, Magneto from Marvel Comics’ X-men are trademarks of Marvel Comics. All rights reserved. The Riddler and Green Arrow are trademarks of DC Comics. All rights reserved. To the best of my knowledge, all the other characters are fiction. Any resemblance to a living, dead or undead person is completely random.

Note:This is the final chapter of this story. Phew! I finished a story! Darn...

Thanks Lilith_Langtree, SmallBurnyThing, Enemyoffun and all the RetCon authors for creating such a fun playground. Thanks all the folks who PM'ed me with "OMG! When is the next chapter!!?!?" Okay, they never really said that, but it was kinda close and encouraging to read.

Thanks to all the readers for the comments and encouragement. Extra thanks goes out to Draflow and Beyogi for their real time feedback and last but not least, thanks to djkauf for editing.

** Chapter 12 **

My armor buffs are still active. So, I decide that popping my shield up would be a good idea in case the idiot decides to try and shoot me. That causes Agent Griebler to jump back another half step and really aim his weapon at me.

“Freeze! Down on the ground! Now!” Agent Griebler says, yelling desperately with the veins in his forehead popping out from the tension.

He is really wound up tight. I think that I accidently feared him because his reaction seems rather extreme to me. I mean, it was only a beer.

“Damn it, Griebler! At ease! Burns! Mystique, you too!” Brown says, bellowing with frustration.

“He started it.” I say, pointing at Griebler while ignoring the fact that he still has his weapon out and aimed at me. “...And I am not Mystique! Damn it...”

I look over at Brown and Agent Burns. She reluctantly lowers her weapon while Agent Griebler is only willing to take an additional step back.  

“Fuck...” I say, exhaling with frustration and then, I turn back to the sink and grab some paper towels to soak up the spilled beer.  Yes, I know that I just turned my back on someone who has a weapon aimed at me, but my shield is still active and turning my back on him might get him thinking again.

“Griebler...” Brown says, expectantly.

Towels in hand, I totally ignore Agent Griebler as I turn back and start cleaning up the beer.  There is still some beer in the bottle and I debate just chugging it down right away, instead I wipe the bottle down and set it on the counter. Maybe I can drink it later.

I am not satisfied with just wiping the beer off the floor. A sticky, beer covered floor sucks to walk over after a night of partying. So, with that in mind, I crouch down and root under the sink for something to clean the floor with besides water.  A half empty spray bottle of window cleaner presents itself to me.  Bottle in hand, I stand back up and turn to face the offending beer spill.

“Go ahead and spray the floor. I’ll wipe it up.” Agent Griebler says, looking a little ashamed of himself as he grabs for some paper towels.

“Sorry...” I say as I spray the stuff over the floor.

He doesn’t say anything in response, but he does slow down his wiping of the floor for a second before resuming with even more force.  

“Look, Agent Griebler, I’m sorry that I lost my temper with you. It has been a really bad week for me and I’ve been itching for a beer ever since that Riddler asshole decided to drop in.” I say, feeling a little bad about that fear aura thing hitting him. Well, I think it hit him because I doubt that he would normally react that way.

“So, Jade, what do you think?” I hear Faraday ask from across the room.

My eyes snap over to Faraday and standing beside him is the woman that I have heard so much about, but never actually seen in person. She looks really nice in her Green Lantern costume. Oh, who am I kidding? She’s freaking hot and I admit it, I checked her out on all the metahuman websites that posted images of her and all the other metahuman women.  They are all hot, but Jade was the first and as such, she holds a special place in my sexual fantasies. I am not sure how that will work now. Is she a lesbian?

Maybe thinking about that isn’t the best thing to be doing right now.

“Her appearance is certainly is striking, but I don’t see how I can help. From a law enforcement perspective, you already have her in your custody and she hasn’t broken any intergalactic laws that I know of.”

Faraday gestures to me. “She needs one of your disguise rings.”

Jade ignores me to icily stare at Faraday. “I am sorry, but I don’t give those to criminals.”

“Innocent until proven guilty...”

“Irrelevant in this case since she doesn’t need one to help her fit in with society until after her trial.” Jade says, waving his statement away.

“Do you think that as ‘striking’ as her appearance is that she would receive a fair trial?”

Thus far, their conversation has been more like a tennis match between each other and neither one of them look comfortable with each other’s presence.  

Hello? I am over here.

Jade looks like she is going to deny his statement, but she pauses to study me. “Hmmm, you have a valid point.”  Once again, she ignores me and turns back to Faraday. “However; you and I both know that she would not be allowed to use the disguise in the courtroom.”

“She might be allowed for a jury trial...” Faraday shrugs.

“It’s not going to get that far, is it?”

“No...probably not.”

“You want her to have a ring to help her blend in. Maybe make it easier on herself and for you to keep her hidden.”

“Damn it, yes.” Faraday says with a barely imperceptible narrowing of his eyes to indicate just how upset he might be with himself.

Jade takes that admission as a victory and smiles with satisfaction. “Okay, since you asked so nicely, I will grant her the use of a ring with one preset disguise, but if she is found guilty and convicted; the ring will be returned to me.”

Jade saunters over to me and after the volley between her and Faraday, I really could use that beer right now.  Especially now that I have her full and undivided attention.  She is so damn pretty that I almost miss spotting the ring that materializes from nothing in her hand.  

“Think about what you would like to look like and form that image in your mind.” She says as she hands the ring to me while maintaining contact with it as I grab onto it too.

Still feeling a little flabbergasted by her, I somehow manage to shift my attention from her to examine the deceptively simple looking platinum ring and at first, it appears to be unadorned, but then, notice that it has the green lantern symbol on one side. How cool is that?

Okay, focus Valerie, focus.

Well, I would like to have normal colored skin. Maybe blond hair like I had as Ally. Green eyes would be nice too. I kind of liked those. They looked tons less scary than red eyes. Normal human ears would probably be good too.  Oh yeah, and the beer reminds me of one tiny additional little detail. I need to look closer to my real age, but maybe not that old. 24 was a good year for me. Yeah, 24 would look perfect.

[“Programming Complete. Ring authorization accepted for one Valerie Wilson, aka Mystique until preset conditions are met.”] I hear a computerized sounding voice say inside my head.

Damn it, I am not Mystique! Even the bloody ring is calling me that now.

“Well, go ahead. Put it on.” Jade says with a grin.

I am still feeling a little star struck by having someone like Jade standing right in front of me.  I look down at the ring resting in the palm of my hand. It looks a little large. “Umm, okay?” I say dubiously as I slide the oversized ring over the index finger of my left hand.

It surprises me by tightening itself around my finger and shrinking down until it is a perfect fit for me. I look up at Jade and now she is smiling at me like she knows a secret.

“Okay, Mystique is authorized to enable and disable visual countermeasures until she is convicted and sentenced by a local court of law.” Jade says.

Well, that is kind of neat, but I am not sure what this ring does or how it works. I am guessing that it will give me a disguise and make me look like a normal human being, but I have no idea how to make it work.  I am so distracted by Jade and the ring that I forget to protest that I am not Mystique.  “Umm, how does it work?” I ask.

“Simple, just will your disguise to activate.” Jade says.

“Umm, okay. Super Disguise, activate!” I say and instantly feel silly when Jade giggles at me.

“No, just think it and will it to happen at the same time.” Jade says.

[“Activating Preset Visual Countermeasures.”]

When I hear that voice inside my head again, I take that as the signal that I did it right, but I am a little distracted when my skin shimmers for a fraction of a second. The next trick that my skin performs has me gasping with shock. My skin turns a wonderfully normal pale shade of pink.  “Sorry, excuse me, but I really need to see what I look like!” I say as I desperately dash into the bathroom.

The girl, no woman, in the mirror surprises me.  “Holy shh...” I say as I study my newly alien face. Alien because I was just getting used to my blue teenager dark elf face. I still look like me, sort of, but older and with green eyes, blonde hair, normal sized human ears, and not blue smurf skin.  I smile and even my teeth look normal. No fangs!

Okay, so maybe I don’t look like me, I mean like Valerie the Dark Elf. No, now I look more like Ally, but not, because I am not a supermodel tall High Elf with small boobs. I mean, smaller. Not that there is anything wrong with smaller boobs. I can’t believe that I just had that argument with myself about my breast size.

“You like?” I hear Jade ask from the door that, in my haste, I forgot to close.

I turn to face her and I feel my damn eyes starting to leak as my emotions get the better of me, again. “Oh my god, yes! I never thought that I could look normal again!” I say as I reach over and hug her.

That kind of surprises me because first of all, I am hugging Jade, The Green Lantern. Second, she is a little bit taller than me and she smells nice. Third, I am hugging Jade, The Green Lantern and she is hugging me back. Finally, did I mention that I am hugging Jade, The Green Lantern?

Lightning fast, all those points run through my head. I let her go and take a step back. “Oh my god, Jade, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to hug you. I hope that you’re not mad at me for touching you or something.”

Jade gently laughs at me. “Oh no, it’s fine. I was pretty surprised that Faraday called me and don’t tell him, but I am glad that he did; Even if it was more for him than for you.”

I steal another glance at my reflection in the mirror and I am struck by a horrible realization. “Oh no!  I’m still a girl. Why didn’t I imagine myself as a guy?” I ask, desperately as I glance back to Jade before I realize what I just said.   I feel my face flush with shame. She must think that I am a freak or something now and she will probably want her ring back.

She surprises me by giving me a quick and reassuring hug instead. “Well, because you are a girl now, but also because it would be more harmful to you in the long run if I had allowed the ring to disguise you as a male.” Jade says.

“I don’t understand. How would looking like the guy I looked like for 27 years be harmful?” I ask.

Jade’s expression softens with understanding and regret. “Because, it would only make adjusting to your new gender harder on you and tell me, how many guys do you know that thanks a stranger who helps them with a hug?” She says with a twinkle in her eyes that tells me she finds the situation humorous, but she is not laughing at me.

I don’t have an answer to that one. I hold my ring hand up. “Okkaay, maybe...but what is going to happen if they convict me? I mean, it sounds like Special Agent Extraordinaire Faraday is working on getting some of the charges dropped, but there will probably still be some charges left due to me sorta losing control and hurting two police officers. Well, after they shot me.” I say, adding the last part after a moment’s hesitation.

Jade smiles patiently at me. “Well, I have only known you for a few minutes now, but I can tell that you’re not the villain that you have been portrayed as in the news.  After your trial, I will drop back down and we can talk about it. How’s that sound?”

Now I am a little hopeful that I will get to keep the ring, but also a little afraid that I won’t. “Okay...umm, thanks.” I say as my damn female emotions kick in and I feel my eyes start to get all wet again.

Jade giggles and gives me another hug.  Did I mention that she is even more beautiful in person than she is on the interwebs?  With that thought, she lets me go, then with a grin and a green glow, shoots straight up and through the ceiling without leaving a trace of her passage.

Now, that is cool!  Why couldn’t I have a cool power like that instead of my slightly evil Dark Elf Priest powers of death and destruction?  

I walk out of the bathroom in a slight daze, past all the similarly stunned Agents and directly to the half a bottle of beer still sitting on the counter and I down it. No one says a word to me about drinking the beer as I set the empty bottle back down on the counter with an intense feeling of satisfaction and relief.

“Ahhhh!” I say with relief because not only do I manage to drink it without interruption, but I also discover that I still like and enjoy the taste of beer.  The sudden change of my taste buds to enjoy wine had me a little concerned.

The steak is missing from the counter, so I check the fridge and there it is.  I pull it out and look in the cabinets for something eat it on.

“Umm, we don’t have any plates or silverware yet either.” Agent Burns says, breaking the silence.

I glance down to the plastic wrapped package of steak. “Umm, anyone have a pocket knife that I can borrow?” I ask.

Agent Burns nods at me. “I have one in my purse...” She says as she grabs her purse from the counter.  Well, I assume that it is her purse since she is the only other female here and my purse is still lost somewhere.

She pulls out a nice six inch long Gerber locking blade and hands it to me. “You might wanna wash it off first.”

I follow her advice and after a quick rinse, I use it to cut open the package of steaks.  The smell of fresh meat hits my saliva glands hard and instead of cutting off a cautious bite to test the taste with; I hack off a good mouthful and cram the raw and bloody chunk of steak into my mouth using the tip of the blade like a fork.  Either this cut of steak is way better than what I had back in my apartment or the steak tastes even better raw instead of lightly cooked.

I decide to grab another beer and sit at the table like a civilized person, but after I do that and take cut of my second bite of raw steak; the rest of the agents decide that they have other things to do. Agent Faraday leaves and then, returns from the garage with my pink suitcase.  Agent Burns seizes the initiative and gains permission to go on a supply run using the minivan. Agent Griebler is not so lucky. He is forced to stay with me, while Special Agent-in-Charge Brown takes off with Faraday.

“See ya in the morning and leave your cell phone off until after tomorrow please.” These are Faraday’s only parting words of wisdom to me.

Cell phone?  Oh crap! My suitcase!  Holy shit. In my rush to feed my face, I totally spaced the fact that Faraday brought my suitcase into the house for me.  Well, not much I can do about it right now. I am eating and my FBI issued sweats are perfectly comfy.

I polish off the first steak and half of the second beer before I slow down enough to sit back and enjoy my meal.  I glance up and Agent Griebler is just kind of staring at me with a confused expression. “What?” I ask as I take another sip of beer.

“Umm, nothing.” Agent Griebler says, not very convincingly.

“Go ahead, ask...” I say, setting my beer down on the table. I figure that I kind of owe it to him since I accidently scared him enough to make him draw his weapon on me. He probably wants to ask me if I was really a guy or something else extra embarrassing.

“Is that what you looked like before you manifested?” Agent Griebler asks.

Okay, that surprises me. “Umm, no. I was a little bit heavier.” I say, dodging the issue because if he doesn’t know that I was a guy; I am not about to make things even weirder by telling him.  My own little “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

“Oh, did it hurt?” Agent Griebler blushes. “I mean, umm, sorry.”

Ha! Did it hurt?  That’s kind of funny and it makes me laugh. “Oh hell yeah!. At least the part where I got electrocuted did for a second or two.” I sober up as I remember that brief flash of pain. “But, then I woke up, saw myself and freaked out, a little.  So, yes and no?” I say, hesitantly.  

“Oh, okay and sorry about the beer thing earlier. You just looked so, umm, you know...” Agent Griebler says as he gestures to me with a confused and flustered expression.

I might have to re-evaluate my opinion of him. He might not that bad of a dude. “Yeah, I know and lemme tell ya that this...” I say, pointing to my newly disguised self. “...is much better!  You would not believe how frustrating it can be having people treat you like a kid or even worse, run screaming from the room because of how you look.”

He jumps at that statement. “That’s happened to you?”

“Well, not the last part, but people have reacted like they wanted too.” I say, admitting my little embellishment.

“John,” He says cause me to jump at the mention of my old name. “What? Is something wrong?” He asks looking at me with concern.

I nervously laugh because for a second there I thought that he was calling me John, but that is his name. “Sorry, nope, nothing. I was just surprised that your name is John, because that was...” I trail off hoping that he will let it go.

“Ahh, an ex-boyfriend?” He asks with what sounds suspiciously like a hopeful question before he chuckles. “Not a problem. I will try not to be a dick. You can just call me Griebler if it is a problem for you.”

“Yeah, an ex. So, anyway John, I have never met, much less had dinner with an FBI Agent or been hidden away in a safe house, but what is it like working for the FBI?  Have you caught any terrorists, been in any shootouts or busted any mobsters like they show on TV?” I ask, feeling genuinely curious because growing up; the FBI and the police were the heroes.

Thankfully, he finds my question and excuse to talk about himself while I use that distraction to revisit my steak. Don’t get me wrong, his life story is interesting. I don’t just ignore him, but I do discover that I am actually feeling a little full now and the second steak is now looking too large for my stomach.  I guess that the beer is helping to fill the void that was my appetite.  

I motion for John to continue telling me his story as I pop the steak back in the fridge.  I would wrap it back up, but nothing to do that with. Hopefully Agent Burns will grab some bags or something at the store.

I am about to ask John if he wants a beer when someone knocks on the front door.  John instantly reacts by jumping up while I react by refreshing my buffs.  

[“Deactivating Preset Visual Countermeasures.”]

What!? Why? I am a little distracted by what my ring is yelling at me about by what is happening in the house. John’s eyes widen with surprise as he takes in the return of my real appearance, but he motions for me to stay in place as a simple pattern of four knocks are tapped on the door.

[“Magical Use detected...Rate Limit Imposed for 30 minutes post event.”]

Oh great. Now I have a nanny ring too?  

John cautiously lowers his weapon.

“What?” I silently mouth as I hear a key being inserted into the front door followed by the door swinging open.

“Honey, I’m home!” I hear Agent Burns sing out.

Dang it! All I did was buff myself and now I am going to be stuck looking like myself for 30 minutes. Well, I hope that it is only 30 minutes.

Agent Burns walks into the kitchen with two large brown paper bags in arms.  She stops when she catches sight of me. “What happened to your disguise?”

I hold up my hand with the ring and point to it. “Apparently, it doesn’t like it when I use magic. It shut down for 30 minutes when I buffed myself.” I say with frustration.

“Oh, well. I got us some paper plates and some plastic silverware, plus some extra kitchen supplies and a cheap pan in case you wanna cook a steak.”

I dubiously glance at the pan as she pulls it out of the bag. She notices my expression. “Or use it as a weapon against Griebler.  How many stories did he tell about his ‘many’ shootouts and car chases to try and impress you with?” Agent Burns asks with a roll of her eyes.

I glance over at  John, I mean Agent Griebler and I catch him shooting Agent Burns “The Look”.  Yes, that look. The look that every guy uses when his buddies are busting him in front of a chick that he is trying to impress.  The “Hey! You weren’t supposed to tell her that! I thought we were friends” look that he quickly tries to hide after he catches me looking at him.

Oh my god. He was flirting with me and I never even noticed. I glare at him more with shock than anger, but I also sort of hope that my aura thing hits him.

Undeterred, Agent Burns laughs. “Well, did he also tell you that the one time he was in car chase, he spent the entire time holding onto the oh-shit bar for dear life and screaming like a little girl?”

“Umm, I’ll go get the rest of the stuff from the car. Be right back ‘dear’.” Agent Griebler says as he adroitly makes his way out of the suddenly dangerous kitchen area.

“Oh shit bar?” I ask, curious because I have never heard of something like that.

Agent Burns giggles. “Yeah, better known as the passenger assist handle.”

“Oh...Okay, that is kinda funny.” I say just before I giggle escapes me when I visualize him in action.  “No, that is actually really funny, but who was driving?”

She smiles and proudly points to herself. “Me, of course. John sucks at driving.”

“Hey! I do not!” Agent Griebler says with wounded pride as he returns with two more bags of groceries.

That lightens my mood a lot and I can’t help relaxing around both of them. Agent Burns finishes unpacking the supplies and when she pulls out a roll of plastic wrap, I grab it and use it to cover the open steak in the fridge.  She also rustled us up some milk, cereal, a dozen eggs, sausage and a pack of breakfast muffins. I help her put all the stuff away and the routine helps me relax even further.

“So, umm, Agent Burns, do you have a first name or should I just keep calling you Agent Burns?” I ask.

“Heather and it is fine in the house and when we are relaxing, but Agent Burns or Burns when I am ‘on duty’ please.”

Thankfully, there is a TV in the house and a fairly good one even. Even better, we have cable and I find something to watch.  It takes exactly 30 minutes before I am able to reactivate my human woman disguise and I feel very relieved when I am able to hide my own skin. I veg in front of the TV until 11pm and my guards ask me if I am going to bed.  They seem a bit surprised by my assertion that I am nocturnal and not tired at all.  They work out a four hour watch rotation and Heather snags the first watch.

That proves to be informational for me in more than one way when she asks me if I wouldn’t mind watching some military history shows on the History Channel.  I thought for sure that she would want to watch something about gardening or even worse, fashion, but that just goes to show that I am more sexist than I thought I was.  Something that I should remember in the future.  Hey, did you know that Patton’s Second Armored Division motto was “Hell on Wheels”?  

I try to meditate to recover my essence, but after 30 minutes of sitting on the floor in the middle of the living room; I only manage to regain 5% of my essence.  I need moonlight. I think.

“Umm, Heather?  Can we open the shades here so I can get some moonlight?” I ask.  

Agent Burns looks down at me and frowns. “Hmmm, lemme check something first.” She peeks out of the sliding glass doors, then opens the doors and walks out and into the backyard of the house.

She returns after less than a minute. “Okay. We have a good sized privacy fence back here and it looks like all of the neighbors are asleep.  So, go ahead.”

I walk over to the doors, look up and spot the moon shining through a light cloud cover.  The light feels warm against the skin of my upturned face.  I take that as a good sign, sit down and begin my meditation again.  Five minutes later, I am back up to 100% essence.  Yes, I can regenerate essence without moonlight, but the moon seems to be a key ingredient to making that regeneration not take forever.

John replaces Heather at 2am, there is nothing on TV, neither one of us feels like talking and I get bored. Not that I want to talk with John because now that I know that he was flirting with me, I am all icked out.  I know exactly what was really going on in his head when he was chatting me up earlier and being on the receiving end of that is uncomfortable for me. That makes me wish that I was not nocturnal because then I could go to bed, sleep and not think about it, but then I remember my suitcase. I am still wearing the FBI sweat pants and I feel a little grimy from the fight with the thing and the flight.

“Hey, umm, John, do ya mind if I take a shower? Do we have any towels?” I ask, and then I immediately regret asking him because I am not so sure that I want to take a shower with him around. I should have taken one when Heather was on duty and how will I manage without Jen here to distract me?

“Oh, yeah. Sure and surprisingly, we do have towels.” John says with a tired grin. “Are you getting tired yet?”

I think about it for a second. “Umm, nope, not one bit, but maybe a nice warm shower will help?” I say, hesitantly as I glance over at my suitcase.

“Here, lemme show you where your room is.” John says as he helps me by grabbing my suitcase for me.

‘My’ room just happens to be the master bedroom and it is kind of nice. I have my very own king sized bed and private bathroom.  John sets my suitcase on top of my bed for me. “Here ya go. I will be in the kitchen making some coffee if you need anything.”

“Okay, thanks.” I say, feeling a bit relieved. I was afraid that he was going to stay in my room and stand guard or something. I dig into my suitcase and kick myself for not thinking to check it sooner.  I find my purse and Kim’s magazine stuck conveniently on top of the rest of my clothes. All of which have been neatly folded and packed away for me. Well, they look neater than they were the last time I saw them.  I inspect my purse and inside, I find my phone, its battery, my money and last but not least, those uniquely female things. I remember reading somewhere that some Special Forces folks use them to plug bullet wounds. Maybe if I thought of them that way, they wouldn’t seem so wrong to carry in my purse.  Oh, who in the hell am I kidding?  I have a freaking purse!

I debate sticking the battery in the phone and sending Jen and Kim a text, but Faraday warned me not to.  So, like a good little, ummm, person, I follow his advice and leave it alone, for now.  I really hope that I can talk to Jen and or Kim soon though.  Jen, because I want to know if she is okay and Kim, because I want to know if she still likes me. The imprinting thing is killing me because I am worried that she will not want have anything to do with me now that I am this big evil villainess person in the news.

I grab a fresh pair of panties, a bra and I can’t resist grabbing my black “Keep out of direct sunlight!” baby doll t-shirt. Once again, that makes me think of Kim and that makes me miss her even more.  I also grab the girl shower supplies that Kim thoughtfully included and pad cautiously into the bathroom.  Since I do not need it, I decide to leave the light off and close the door. That helps me feel a little be safer since no one will be able to see me, while I will be able to see them. Not that I want to see anyone else.

I frown at myself when remove Jade’s ring and my disguise drops. My blue skin seems even more noticeable and weird to me now, but I can’t really afford to think of it as my ring. I am just borrowing it and I fully expect her to want it back after the trial. Still, it would be nice if she lets me keep it.  I like looking like a normal g-person instead of a scary blue skinned freak.

I find the shower refreshing, relaxing and I even manage to properly clean all my new parts without freaking out.  I also do not try to play with my new parts because that would just be weird with a pair of FBI agents in the house with me.  That makes me think of Jen and then, I actually find myself regretting that I don’t feel brave enough to do a little self-exploration.  I can face just a little bit of peril...Nope, it’s much too perilous!

I manage to dress and blow dry my hair all by myself, but that’s not really that hard. After all, I am all grown up, but my current situation has exposed me to more gender differences than I ever wanted to know about. It was way more fun to make fun of Jen for taking so long to get ready than it is to actually find out first hand why it takes so long for a woman to get ready. I mean, except for the bra, the dressing part isn’t that much harder, but I have to admit that having to blow dry your hair is a chore.  

This was much easier when Jen was doing it for me. Once again, I think about getting it cut, and once again, Kim and Jen’s rather forceful insistence that I keep it makes me grin and bear it.  It is kind of nice.  Damn it.

My lazy shower and getting ready for nothing wasted 45 minutes, which is not a good sign.  Is it going to be possible for me to be ready to go in 20 minutes or less anymore?  All I did extra was wash and condition my hair, which added at least five minutes.  The bra, well, I don’t think I can officially count that, but if I could, it would add another two minutes.  It was the blow drying that added the most time. That took an easy 10 extra minutes.  I sure hope that I never have to worry about putting makeup on my face.

I put Jade’s ring back on and will my disguise back to life. I feel so relieved by having normal colored skin again, that I decide not to put my hair up in a ponytail. It feels kind of relaxing not having my hair constantly being pulled and I just want to chill.  I cautiously sneak out of the bathroom wearing only my t-shirt and panties.

That state of undress would not normally be a problem for me because I went to college and I lived in the dorms. For a guy, wearing a t-shirt with briefs or boxers in the dorms was almost considered to be fully clothed. However; a chick wearing only a t-shirt and panties was considered a sex object, the subject of many whistles and congratulations for the lucky guy that she spent the night with. Maybe, I should start wearing boxers?  That ridiculous idea makes me laugh at myself as I pad softly to the door of my room.

The door is open a crack, but I can hear the TV and as I anxiously peek out and into the hallway. I do not spot anyone trying to ogle me from the hallway.  Not that I really expected to and who knows, the entire house might be wired for video and I could have an entire team of FBI agents watching my every move.  

I softly close my bedroom door and quickly slip on a pair of jeans followed by a pair of the ankle socks that Kim bought me. I kind of miss my normal heavy-duty athletic style tube socks, but I discover that I also like not having all that heavy fabric on my legs. I almost don’t put my sneakers on, but my previous escape under fire makes me change my mind on that because there is no way that I want to try running without shoes on my feet.

I decide to lie on my bed and re-read the Cosmo.  Seriously, I am that bored.  It works, because the next thing I know, someone is rudely shaking me awake.  “Uhhhh, go away. Ten more hours...” I say, mumbling as bright sunlight sneaks its way through the blinds.

“Come on honey, it’s time to get ready for school...” I hear my mom say with a smile in her voice.

“Ten more....Mom?!?” I say as I bolt upright and see Kim sitting calmly on the bed next to me.  I can’t believe that she is here.

I look past her and Faraday is looking in from the doorway with what looks suspiciously like a grin. Okay, maybe the hint of a grin if you look hard enough.  “You would not believe how much of a pest your ‘Mom’ can be.” He turns and calls back over his shoulder as he walks away. “Ten minutes, then we leave for the hospital.”

“Oh my god!  Kim!” I say as practically bowl her over when I jump into her warm embrace.

“Hey, what happened to ‘Mom’?” Kim asks with an indignant smirk.

“Sorry, umm, Mom, but I wasn’t sure if you would still like me after I kinda went a little crazy, you know?” I say.

“Hey, you’re still my daughter...” Kim looks confused for a second. “Well, sort of, but I think of you that way. I would love you no matter what.” She says with more confidence.

That makes my eyes start to leak again. Damn crappy female plumbing. It is just shoddy work I tell you. I decide to cover the leaks by hugging her tighter.  I waste an entire minute just hugging her and being hugged.  “Umm, what about Dad?” I ask, leaning back so that I can try to see what she is feeling.

Kim turns her head to the side. “Weelll, he’s still a little freaked out,” She turns back to face me with laughter dancing in her eyes. “, but the boys are excited!”

That makes me laugh. “I’ve never had little brothers before. I was an only child. Do they like to play video games?” I ask because it might be kind of fun to teach them how to play. Although, they might be better than me already.

“Umm, yes. Too much sometimes, but what happened to you?” Kim asks, then pauses to study me for a moment. “You look normal.”

“I do?” I ask, before I realize that she is talking about my disguise. “Oh! Oh yeah, Jade, The Green Lantern, gave me a disguise ring. See?” I drop the disguise.

Kim shakes her head with wonder. “That is...interesting.” She frowns. “But, I think that I like how you look as a dark elf though. Something about that just feels normal to me...”

Now, I am really confused about my appearance. How can she think that me looking like a dark elf is normal? “What?” I ask before Kim holds her hand up to stop me.

“Wait, we can talk about it during the ride over.” Kim says as she stands up and motions for me to join her. “We need to get you ready to go. That Mr. Faraday is very serious about schedules.”

Kim leads me into the bathroom and takes the brush to my hair.  She checks her watch. “Okay, we have enough time...turn around.” She says as she spins me around by my shoulders.  

I watch her in the mirror as she pulls my hair straight back like she is going to put it up in a ponytail for me, but instead, she quickly braids my hair. “Your hair is so pretty. It’s like spun silver...” She says with a smile as she ties it off with a fluffy black hair scrunchy.  

I must admit, that the silver color is kind of nice, but I think that I prefer a more normal hair color, like blonde or black.

“There, perfect!” Kim says, surprising me with her pronouncement.

I spin around and check out my profile in the mirror. The braid looks pretty nice and it even feels a little more comfortable than a ponytail.  The scrunchy even matches my shirt. Where did she get that from?  I reactivate my disguise and Kim gasps with a mixture astonishment and disappointment.

Based upon her reactions, I feel a little unsure about my disguise now. That makes me acutely aware of the fact that my disguise makes me look closer to my real age instead of like Kim’s teenage dark elf daughter.  Not that anyone would ever think that I was her daughter. We do not resemble each other in the slightest. “Umm, I guess that we can talk about it in the car?” I say, hesitantly.

This time, I remember to grab my purse and we meet Faraday in the hallway. I guess that he was just coming to get us.  He leads us to the garage and we pile into the black, standard issue SUV.  It takes us an hour to get to the hospital where they are treating the two police officers and that is with non-rush hour traffic. I shudder to think what the drive would be like during rush hour.  During that time, I tell Kim my story and she helps me through some of the rough spots with hugs of encouragement.  I don’t understand exactly why, but she still prefers me without my disguise. Maybe that is because of what I looked like when we imprinted on each other?

Me, I just feel like someone is bound and determined to keep me a dark elf.

We are met at the front of the hospital by at least ten people wearing FBI jackets and looking all serious along with another ten even more serious looking police officers.  Special Agent-in-Charge Brown is there and at his side is some guy wearing an expensive suit and another police officer who has some stars on his shoulders. I guess that he is the Chief of Police.

Faraday leads me and Kim over to the men.  He smiles and shakes the hand of the man in the expensive suit first. “Mr. Gregory Roseland, this is Mrs. Kim Elletson, RN and next to her is Miss Valerie Wilson, otherwise known as Mystique.”

I manage to refrain from correcting Faraday, but I am not Mystique, damn it. Mr. Roseland looks at me with a hard to read expression, but if I had to guess; I would guess that he is not happy to see me, since he only acknowledges me with a curt nod of his head while he smiles politely and shakes Kim’s hand.  

Mr. Roseland’s treatment of me does not go unnoticed by Faraday. “Valerie, Mr. Roseland here is the L.A. County District Attorney, but standing next to him is the L.A. County Chief of Police, Chief Adam Falks.”

The Chief actually acknowledges my presence with a polite handshake. “You don’t look like Mystique, but I guess that is part of your power. Are you really going to be able to help my men?” He asks as he releases my hand.

I look up to his eyes. “Yes sir, or die trying.” I say with complete sincerity.

“Valerie!” Kim says with shock as she pulls me protectively to her.

“I’ll try not to though.” I say softly into her ear, but I don’t think that reassures her any.

With that, I am lead to the bank of elevators and then, to the sixth floor.  A fresh batch of police officers and FBI agents meet us there, along with Special Agent Helligan, Agent Ferguson and Agent Thompson.  He flashes me a reassuring grin before he re-applies his serious face.

Thus far, everyone has been looking at me without too much alarm, but I expect that to change as soon as I start casting and my disguise drops.  Since it will take 30 minutes before I will be able to re-activate Jade’s ring, I should have brought my hoodie to help disguise me after I am done here.  Oh well, maybe I can just wait 30 minutes or borrow another FBI jacket for that.

They bring me to the officer that is in the worst shape and I find it amazing how many people with weapons they manage to fit into his room.  An attractive, yet very exhausted looking woman in her mid-thirties is sitting anxiously next to the unconscious police officer and holding his hand.  I spot a wedding band on her hand. She must be his wife.

The woman glares at me with anger as soon as she spots me. “Is that her?” She asks Chief Falk.

He simply nods his head and I decide to drop my disguise since it would fail as soon as I tried to cast anyway.  Plus, this way, the woman will be able to see me as I really am.

The woman blinks with surprise from my sudden reveal, but she stands and calmly walks up to me, looking me squarely in my eyes. She silently studies my eyes for few seconds and I can tell that she has a lot of emotion boiling under the surface, but I can’t tell if she is going to punch me, slap me or shoot me. She does not look at all happy to see me and I can’t really blame her. I have no idea what I would do if the person who hurt someone I loved walked into the room.  She glances over to an anxious looking Kim then quickly back to me. “Can you really make him better?” She asks.

I don’t trust my voice to reply without it breaking up from the complex swirl of emotions. In spite of the fact that her husband shot me, I really feel bad for her. I simply nod my head once and look over at the police officer.  My new found sense tells me that he is at 20%, but unlike Thompson, he is in stable condition.  Wow, I really messed him up.

“Ma’am, I really must protest! Letting this, this thing try to cast some magic spell and heal your husband is hardly safe!” A man wearing a white doctor’s lab coat admonishes her from the other side of the bed.

Thing!?  Really dude?

Feeling just a little pissed, I glance over the obnoxious doctor and glare at him.  It was just a little glare, honest.

“Ahhh! Get it out of my hospital!” He yells with panic as he jumps back in an attempt to put as much distance as possible between me and him in the cramped room.

I probably should learn to control both my temper and that fear thing of mine. It has mostly proven to be a pain in the ass for me, but I can also see how it could be useful in the right situations.  Like, when I am negotiating with a bad guy to get him to surrender or something.  Not that I expect to be some silly superhero and have that happen to me.  Nope, I would just like to get back to work and be a normal person again.

Faraday sighs with frustration and walks over to the now very upset doctor. “Now, Doctor Franks, we discussed this already and your hospital’s president agrees that as long as the patient or his spouse agrees to allow Miss Wilson to treat your patient, that we would allow that to happen.”

Doctor Franks straightens out his lab coat and regains some composure, but I think that my fear thing rattled him, a lot.  “Be that as it may, I simply refuse to let this, this...” He gestures to me. “, thing do her voodoo magic thing on my patient, “He looks over at the police officer’s wife. “, and I seriously advise Mrs. Reynolds to refuse to allow it.  A hospital is no place to perform experimental procedures!”

Ahh, so I can heal him if he or his wife says that it is okay.  With a sidelong glance in my direction, Faraday takes Doctor Frank off to the side to negotiate with him in less strident tones and I use that opportunity. “Umm, Mrs. Reynolds,” I say as I turn to her with what I hope is an appropriately apologetic expression.  “, I really am sorry that I hurt your husband. If I could turn back time, I would have done so many things differently, but I can’t. I can only try to make things right.  May I try to heal your husband?”

I notice Doctor Franks turn away from Faraday with a desperate expression. He captures her attention by calling out. “Mrs. Reynolds, you can’t let that thing...”

She looks very conflicted as she glances back to me before she walks back over to her husband and grabs his hand with tears in her eyes. No one says a thing as she simple hold her husband’s limp hand for over a minute as she silently prays to herself.  

I feel an instinctive urge to try and comfort her, but I know that would probably not go over too well.

Mrs. Reynolds looks back at me and after another second or two, she nods her head once.  “Can you really help him?” She asks, softly.

I walk over and gently place my hand on her shoulder. “Yes, yes I can. Will you let me?”

“Yes, please...” Mrs. Reynolds says as tears burst from her eyes and my mom, umm, Kim, rushes in to comfort her.  

There is no time like the present, but instead of shooting a brilliant green laser beam of healing from across the room. I decide to try and cast it while touching his chest instead.  No need to make it look like I am trying to zap him and upset his wife even more.  It works and a bright green aura swirls around my hand as I channel my health into the man.  

Once again, I feel my health being pulled from my body and it is not a comfortable feeling.  Officer Reynolds’ eyes open almost immediately as his body begins to heal and just like when I healed Thompson, for every 2% of my health, I heal 10% of his.  He tries to sit up at the 80% mark, but I gently press my hand into his chest. “Please, let me finish...” I say with a slight groan of pain.

He glances around nervously at all the people in his room before his eyes settle on his wife and with a sigh, he relaxes so that I can finish. It only takes me another second before he is at full health and I cancel the spell. With that, I step back and I am surprised to find Agent Thompson there to help support me. I think that I handle the pain a little better this time, but I still end up feeling grateful for Agent Thompson’s presence.

My legs feel a little wobbly, but not nearly as bad as they were the first time. I am down to 84% and I doubt that they will let me make another monster in the morgue for me to kill so that I can recover my health the easy way. I hope that the other officer doesn’t need as much.

“Brad!” Mrs. Reynolds cries as she brushes past me in her rush to hug her husband.

I smile both with satisfaction and amusement because if he calls her Janet, I am going to lose it.  Before that can happen, I use that happy distraction to try sneaking out of the room and avoid any further confrontation with the grumpy doctor, but it proves to be very difficult with a room full of police, FBI agents, DMA agents, the Chief of Police and the District Attorney.  Agent Thompson makes that goal even more difficult by gently restraining me under the guise of helping to support me.  

It is not only confrontation that I am trying to avoid because once again, I also discover that everyone’s healthy glows look rather tasty to me.  Mmmm, all that tasty health. I only need a nibble. Maybe I really am a vampire, of sorts.

Despite the evidence to the contrary, the good Doctor Franks refuses to acknowledge my good deed, but I don’t really need his approval. It is Mrs. Reynolds and to a slightly lesser degree, her husband who I worry the most about. Okay, it would be nice if the grumpy police officer didn’t hate me for nearly killing him, but I will feel even better if his wife doesn’t hate me anymore.

As he his hugging his sobbing wife, Officer Reynolds looks at me with suspicion, but doesn’t try to jump out of the bed and attack me, so I consider that part a victory.  Mrs. Reynolds senses her husband’s gaze and after a moment longer, she reluctantly releases him and faces me with her tear streaked face.  She composes herself admirably and approaches me.  

Now, I really don’t know what she is going to do or say.  I would be happy with a small smile of approval from her. She doesn’t even have to say a word, but instead of taking the easy way out; she gives me a quick hug.

“Thanks.” Mrs. Reynolds says softly and with emotion as she pulls me to her, and then releases me to rejoin her husband.

With that, I am finally ‘escorted’ out of the room and to the next officer’s room.  Officer Grant is in much better shape. He is only down by 15% and from the way he is alertly sitting up in his bed, he looks like they might release him in a day or two.  He studies me more with curiosity than suspicion and I find that reassuring. I guess that they briefed him.

Grumpy Voodoo Magic Hating Doctor Franks elects to wash his hands of the entire affair and not accompany us. I imagine that is so that he can lodge a protest with some medical board or something. Like I care. I never studied the laws of medicine, thus they don’t apply to me.  I hope that my Road Runner logic will work out for me.

“Umm, so, like I am sorry that I zapped you, but if you let me zap you again, I can fix you.” I say with a slight attempt at humor since he isn’t currently trying to shoot me. “Well, fix your wounds anyway. Not ‘fix’ fix you because that would just be evil.”

Officer Grant actually laughs at my little joke.  “Sure, but only because hospital food is so horrible, but I must admit that the nurses are rather nice.”

Yeah, he’s not married and I find myself feeling even worse for hurting him now. He seems pretty cool and he might have even been someone I would have hung out with and  drank a few beers over a game.  I walk up, place my hand on his chest and before I can change my mind because this is probably going to hurt, I activate my Vampiric Heal.

Yep, it hurts, but healing him only takes another 3% of my health. Hardly anything really and if I was really in the game, 3% would regen on its own in just a few minutes because that is really more like stubbing your toe than getting injured. I am down to 81% health and Officer Grant surprises me by reflexively grabbing a hold of my hand when a small groan of pain escapes me.  His hand, plus the ever vigilant Agent Thompson helps to prevent me from falling backwards and onto my ass.  

How in the hell was I able to use this spell in the game without any of these problems. I would think that the game designers would have at least made my character move a little slower or something to show that it hurt her.  Maybe they gave Vylencia a pass since she was usually in combat at the time and had an enemy to heal herself back up via a drain. Well, and it was just a game.

“Are you okay?” Officer Grant asks as he continues to hold my hand.

I manage to shake off the pain and stand on my own, more or less.  I pull my hand away and smile gratefully at him. “Yeah, mostly. Thanks for the hand.” I say, causing him to laugh and me to blush when I realize what I just said.  Once again, I am so glad that my skin does not betray my embarrassment by turning purple.

“Hey, not a problem. Thanks for the healing or whatever it was that you did. I feel like a million bucks now.  Even my old shoulder injury feels better.” Officer Grant says with a grin that slowly fades to wonder as he studies my face with an expression that looks suspiciously like recognition. “Umm, did you know that without the wig that you look more like a DBO Dark Elf than Mystique?”

Now it is my turn to be surprised. I can’t believe that someone else would recognize that. I laugh because it is actually pretty damn funny. “Yeah, hard to believe that someone would mistake me for Mystique, right?” I ask as a gesture to the rest of my appearance.

“Do you play?” Officer Grant asks with a hopeful expression.

His expression is easily recognizable by me. It was the same expression that I probably had plastered on my face when I met Mode at the convention. It is the “wow, I can’t believe that she plays! Maybe she will go out with me” expression.

“Umm, I did...” Agent Thompson distracts me by gently pulling me towards the door. “Sorry, but bye!” I say over my shoulder on the way out of his room.

Mom, I mean, Kim, I mean, I am so confused, but she quickly joins me on my left side while Agent Thompson keeps a gentle hold on my right as he steers and assists me down the hall and into a small worker break room that Faraday has commandeered to work as a conference room.  

Mr. Roseland, Chief Falk, Faraday, Brown and Helligan are all seated at the table and they appear to be working out a deal of some sort.  Mr. Roseland has his briefcase open and is placing some paperwork inside. He looks up at me as I enter the room.

“So, we are in agreement then?” Faraday asks, looking at Mr. Roseland.

He nods with agreement. “Yes, I believe that the solution that you worked out with the FBI will be in the best interest of everyone involved, including Mystique.”

I sigh with frustration. I am not Mystique.

“What solution?” I ask, suspiciously as all eyes turn to me.

“Why don’t you go ahead and take a seat Valerie. Mr. Roseland will explain to you what he feels that he can get the Judge to agree to.” Faraday says, gesturing for me to take the seat next to him.

Feeling somewhat nervous, I cautiously take the offered seat. “Okaaay, what’s up?” I ask.

“Despite what the media has reported, I think that it is fairly easy to see that you were not part of the Joker and the Riddler’s little plot. All of those charges will be dropped.  However; that still leaves Resisting Arrest, Attempted Murder and Assault with a Deadly Weapon.  Of those charges, Attempted Murder and Assault with a Deadly Weapon are the only remaining valid chargeable offenses.”

I feel my stomach flip over as my mom grip my shoulders tightly. “What do you mean?! She just healed them and you know that her weapon wasn’t real.” Kim says, heatedly.

“Now, now Mrs. Ittner, I am getting to that.” Mr. Roseland says, looking up at my mom with a grimace. “Now, as I was saying, I am willing to drop both of those two charges, but I cannot just let her go scot free.  The media would have a cow and she did injure Officer Reynolds and Officer xxx, right?”

I feel my eyes begin sting as my emotions try to get the better of me.  “Yes, sir, but I healed them...” I say.

“Yes, and it is because of that, that I am willing to offer you a plea deal. If you are willing to plead guilty to two counts of Reckless Endangerment, I will drop all of the remaining charges.”

I glance up to an anxious and hopeful looking Kim and then, back down to Mr. Roseland. “Umm, that sounds nice, but what does it mean? Will I have to go to jail?”

“Yes, well, the maximum sentence per count is one year...”

My stomach drops again.

Mr. Roseland holds up his hand in an attempt to forestall further reaction. “But, I will recommend no more than 30 days per count, but I believe that Special Agent-in-Charge Brown has a counter offer for you to consider.”

Both Kim and I turn expectantly in Mr. Brown’s direction.  He fidgets nervously in his chair. “Yes, well, Mystique, the FBI would like to offer you a position working for the FBI as part of our recently formed Meta-Human Crime Task Force.”

I rock back in my chair. I am surprised.  On one hand, I find the idea of not going to jail to be rather attractive, but on the other hand, I find the idea of join the FBI or go to jail to be somewhat crazy.  I thought that the old join the military or go to jail was a thing of the past.  “Umm, that sounds interesting, but what would I actually do?”

“Well, in the event that we needed to arrest a dangerous meta-human, you would be called in to assist our agents.”

I can’t help think about how dangerous that would be for me. Yes, I know that I am powerful, but some of those meta-humans are downright deadly.

“We will provide you with the standard FBI Special Agent training and when there is not an active need for your assistance, you would be given a cover identity and allowed to live where ever you would like.”

“Could I live with Kim?” I ask as I reach up and hold her hand.  She enthusiastically squeezes my hand in return. I don't have to look at her. I can feel her smile warming me.

Mr. Brown smiles with victory. “Yes, I believe that a mutually beneficial arrangement can be made.”

“Okay then, I think that I can accept the FBI’s offer of employment. I need a new job anyway.” I say with a smile.

Mr. Roseland, Mr. Brown and Faraday have a lot more bits of official paper for me to read and sign, but in the end; I think that today is turning out to be pretty damn good day for me.  I feel like I can breath and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I just hope that it is not a train. Hehe.

All the administration gives my disguise time to reset and I reactivate it before we leave the room.  I still receive a few second glances on the way to the elevator, but they are mostly just curious glances by visitors and staff as to why I have so many people surrounding me. I over hear a few whispers of, “Who is she? Is she a movie star?” Thankfully, once we reach the ground floor, it is only a quick jaunt down another hall and into the waiting SUV.  

“Make way! Coming through!” I hear from behind my party.

I almost expect my escort to react by drawing their weapons, but instead, after a quick glance to the rear, we all move to the side of the hallway to make room.  I see a pair of EMT’s pushing a gurney towards us with an extremely distraught woman running along beside the gurney.

“Hang in there sweetie! We are almost there...” I hear the woman plead with whoever is on the gurney.

I manage to catch a glimpse of the person that is on the gurney. There is a little 6 to 8 year old girl covered in blood resting on the gurney.  I notice that she is only at 5% health when she passes.  I whisper a quick prayer for the little girl.

I spot the sign for the hospital’s trauma center just ahead and they quickly disappear down the hallway with the sound of doors slamming open from the impact of the gurney.

Phew!

She made it, but somehow, I can still sense her and I become alarmed when her health drops to 4%.  “She’s not going to make it...” I say, glancing desperately at Agent Thompson, then back to Kim.  

Faraday must have overheard me because he misses a step and I grow hopeful that he is going to let me try and help the little girl, but instead, he sighs and shakes his head no. “Too many witnesses...” He says, regretfully.

3%

We pass the doors and I can’t take it anymore. “Easier to get forgiveness, right?” I mutter as I break Agent Thompson’s light grip on my arm. He makes a halfhearted attempt to stop me before I run through the doors leading into the trauma center. I spot the EMTs wheeling her into a room labeled Operation Room Two.

“Hey! You can’t...” I hear a nurse or someone yell at me as I race to the door that she disappeared into.

2%

Crap!  

I spot a pair of doctors along with three nurses surrounding the girl and desperately cutting away clothes. The nurses are feverishly trying to hook her tiny and broken body up to the diagnostic machines while the doctors are trying to do something to stop her bleeding as her heart starts to falter. They haven’t spotted me and I doubt that they would let me help her, but I glance behind me and a pair of hospital guards along with a host of FBI and L.A.P.D. anxiously rushing toward me and they do not look happy.

I pop a sphere of darkness just in front of me so that it will cover not only myself, but the operating table and then, amidst the screams and chaos. I step inside the now pitch black room.  Unless someone bumps right into me, they won’t be able to see me, I hope.  

“Get the power back up!” One of the doctors yells with desperation.

1%

I cast my Vampiric Heal on the little girl and grimace with pain when it connects with her chest and begins to drain my health.

10%

I ignore all the people yelling and stumbling around in the pitch black as I keep my spell going. Healing her takes another 8% of my health, but due to her small size and age; it only takes me five long seconds to heal her to 100%

The adrenaline must help me because when I cancel the spell, I don’t stumble in the slightest. I easily weave my way between the blinded hospital staff and agents who are actively trying to find me and I end up popping out of the darkness right next to a very worried looking Agent Thompson.  He grabs me, and then quickly wraps his jacket over my head as he leads me out of the area.  I cancel the darkness spell and when it the light returns, I hear someone scream. “Oh my god!”

I can’t tell if that is a good OMG or a bad OMG, but maybe it is both.  Agent Thompson throws me into the SUV with Kim right behind and as soon as the doors close, we speed off.

“God damnit Wilson! What in the fuck were you thinking?!?” Special Agent Faraday yells from the front passenger seat.

Oh yeah, Special Agent Faraday is not happy.  “She was going to die...” I say defensively and that seems to take some of the wind out of his sails, but it easy to see that he is still pissed.

Everyone in the SUV with me looks so tasty, I mean healthy.  I am only down by 27%, but I feel so empty inside and I am surrounded by a very appealing buffet of health.  I close my eyes to block out the sight and I feel myself start to crash as the adrenaline begins to fade. I am so tired and I try to fight it, but that effort only prolongs my awareness long enough to hear Faraday’s phone begin to ring.

I wake up back at the safe house tucked in my bed with all blinds and curtains closed to help make the room as dark as possible. I perform a quick inventory of myself and the first thing that I discover is that I have managed to regain 5% of my health. How long was I out for? I also very quickly realize that I am not wearing my clothes.

I am not wearing much of anything except for panties and some silky top thing. Like a shot, I sit up and as the covers fall off; I discover that I am wearing what appears to be a flimsy white silk dress sleep thing. Well, I think it is a nightie or whatever women call them. Jen would sometimes wear something similar and that is what she called it, but I have to admit that I enjoyed it more when she wore her sexy black silk negligee. Rawr.

Who in the hell undressed me and put me into this thing?  That is what I want to know because I sure hope that it wasn’t Faraday.  I look around the room and spot the glowing red alarm clock. It is 6:37PM. Wow, I have been asleep for about six hours and with that, my stomach decides to growl at me to remind me that I have not eating anything since last night.  My bladder also reminds me that it needs some attention.

I slip out from between the covers and discover that even after I tug it down, the flimsy nightie thing barely covers my butt.  It also does not provide any support up top. My breasts painfully bounce a few times before I alter my gait to smooth things out. Thank god no one can see me in this thing right now!  

I don’t bother turning the light on. I don’t need it and I don’t want to waste any time reaching the toilet by being blinded by the sudden light. I catch myself trying to lift both the lid and the seat and with a frustrated sigh, I split the two, spin around, drop my panties and sit.

I spend the rest of the week grounded to the safe house and recovering from my unauthorized adventure. I am not able to test draining some cows to regain my health, but I discover that I naturally regenerate 10% of my health per day. That is great, but not nearly as good as it was in the game. It would be nice if I could heal super-fast, but I guess that 10% per day is nothing to sneeze at either.

I felt very relieved when I learned that it was my mom, Kim, that dressed me and put me to bed, but they were mean and would not let her stay. I was a little disappointed when I discovered that, but she had to work and she has her real family to take care of too. Using one of the FBI’s phones, they let me call and talk to her once a day, but they limit the call to 30 minutes.  I never realized that 30 minutes could be so short because I can’t remember the last time I spoke to someone on the phone for more than five minutes before my ‘little’ change.

Jen’s story makes it to the front page of almost every newspaper.  I guess that it is really my story, but Jen wrote it and I must say that it is rather good.  I would give her the Pulitzer for it in a heartbeat.  It spawned a ton of related news stories and talk show discussions that ranged from the normal “Is Mystique really a villain?” to the outright bizarre “Is Mystique really Elvis’s lost love child?”  Even Special Agent Faraday seemed to like Jen’s story because he sent a pair of DHS agents to her apartment with a secure phone so that I could talk to her for a few minutes. Well, it actually ended up being 45 minutes. The dang girl can talk and it isn’t like I had anything to talk about other than my ninja healing of the little girl or clothes advice or hair advice or anything else, honest.

I did have to pick a middle name for my new identity.  That took another call to Mom, I mean Kim, because I had no idea what to use for my middle name. I wanted to use Allison, but I didn’t want to be reminded of my forbidden Ally form.

Kim quickly suggested Ann, meh, Cora, ehh, Zoe, hmm, Hailey, dunno that could be changed to Hallie, which could be changed to Allie, and finally, she also suggested, Jennifer.  I have no idea how she came up with so many names so quickly.  Did she have a baby name book in her pocket or did she just know that many mostly good names?  I felt torn. I liked Cora, Zoe and Jennifer. Jennifer for obvious reasons, but that would also be kind of weird.

I picked Cora and that made Kim cry because Cora was her grandma’s name.  Zoe was her Aunt’s name and Hailey was a niece's name that she liked.  I guessed that it would not have mattered which name I picked because she would have cried no matter what.

That selection spawned more paperwork, which Faraday managed to spread out the pain by giving Special Agent Helligan some of the work. Special Agent-in-Charge Brown also got a fair amount of extra work and so did some Department of Justice lawyers.

By the middle of the week, I was no longer public enemy number one and the pressure was off without the public screaming for my head. Instead, I was now the hero of the week with all the major news networks pestering the FBI and the DMA for the ‘right’ to interview me.

Yes, ninja healing the little girl, Maddie, short for Madalene, was a stupid thing for me to do.  I was trying to avoid the healing trap, but instead, I stuck my neck right onto the chopping block.  I mean, we could hide my healing utility fairly well with the police officers, but healing Maddie in such a dramatic fashion was far too visible for everyone to ignore or pretend it never happened.  

That is what I thought, but Special Agent Faraday is full of far more resources than I would expect a “simple” DHS Special Agent to possess.  Somehow, the story changed from “I healed a little girl from death’s door” to “I caused a ruckus by my concern for the little girl and the doctors realized that her wounds were far less severe than they initially appeared.”  Something about the combination of a minor concussion depressing the girl’s vital signs coupled with the blood from a minor head wound that made it look worse than it really was.

Somehow, Faraday also managed to get me an almost immediate, by California standards, court date.  Friday afternoon of the same week and by the time Friday came to pass, even I almost believed the official story.  

Jade surprised me with another appearance the night before my court date.  She was mostly there see how I was doing and to make sure that Faraday wasn’t being too mean to me.  I managed to talk her into removing the restriction for magic use and allowing me a second disguise.  A version of me that looked like me, but at my current apparent 16 year old age and with the same color hair and eyes as Kim.  I couldn’t really explain why, but I just wanted to look more like I could be Kim’s daughter.

Jade snuck in a Mystique disguise mode for me too.  Well, she didn’t really sneak it in because she did tell me, but at least she gave me a two different preset costume options to use instead of the standard evil Mystique skulls and white loincloth costume design. I also got Mystique’s black leather halter top with tight leather pants costume.

Yes, the irony of all the disguises did not escape me.  I am not Mystique, but thanks to Jade’s ring, I sure in hell can fake being a shape shifter like Mystique.  It wasn’t until after she departed that I wished that I had asked for my DBO Vylencia costume instead.  There is no way that anyone would ever confuse me with Mystique if I looked like an evil magic user.  Wait, okay, maybe that would not have been a good idea either.

All the options make it very hard to decide what to go to court looking like. Well, that is until I asked Faraday for his advice. “Just go as yourself. I asked the DHS’s legal counsel about it and that is what they advised.”

So, thanks to Mom, I am not going as myself. I am wearing a business suit.  Well, a women’s business suit which means that I am wearing a conservative skirt, panty hose, two inch patent leather heels, a white blouse covered by a non-functional suit styled jacket and I even have a little makeup on my face.  Just a little eye shadow around my eyes to try and minimize the impact that blood red corneas have on the monkey hindbrain of people.  I blame Hollywood for producing too many monster movies and giving their villains red eyes.

Kim even styled my hair with an eye towards making me look more mature since a pony tail is generally not considered ‘professional’.  I have no idea who makes these rules for women, but whoever ‘they’ are, they need to stop. She put it up in a rather nice French braid that effectively made it a pony tail, but it is a braid and not a pony tail so it fits the business hair rules for women.  I think.  

I am allowed a huddle with my Justice Department supplied attorneys. They warn me that the Judge is allowing Doctor Franks and his lawyers to state their case against me for practicing medicine without a license.  They feel confident that nothing will come out of it since I was using magic and not medicine.  

Shortly after that, I am lead into the courtroom from the rear. I do not get to enter via the front doors like everyone else.  I guess that, technically, I am a prisoner, so it should not be that big of a surprise when I am handed off to a bailiff by my team of FBI agents.  The bailiff then leads me into the courtroom proper. They do not put me in cuffs, for which I am grateful since that would make me appear more dangerous or something.  Nothing to see here, just little ‘ole innocent me.

To aid in that ‘innocent me’ demeanor, Kim had to work with me to retrain my high heel walk. Well, to make me not walk like I am a confident, sexy and dangerous femme fatale.  It is amazing how hard it is for me to overcome that one day of muscle memory and walk like I am merely a normal, everyday confident woman.  I am able to do it, but much to Kim’s and my own frustration, that normal walk takes a lot of concentration and that does not bode well for the future.

I am surprised by who is in the audience.  For starters, my mom is there. Not Kim, but my real mom. My real dad is not there, which is also a surprise because I would not expect my mom to break ranks from him. She is sitting on the side of the defense and I find that confusing because I would expect her to be there to speak against me as some filthy metahuman.

In addition to my real mom, Kim and a man that has to be her husband Jim is with her.  The sight of both of them makes me smile, but I do not dare wave at the two of them.  That would be unprofessional.    

Of course, Agent Thompson, Agent Ferguson, and  Agent Kramer are there along with their boss, Special Agent Helligan.  Helligan’s facial expression remains impassive, but all of her men have a suspicious twinkle in their eyes that tell me that they are behind me.  Special Agent-in-Charge Brown is there along with a young looking female agent. Well, I assume that she is an FBI agent. She has the suit and that FBI look.

Aside from my real mom making an appearance, I am also surprised to see the little girl that I didn’t officially heal. Maddie is there with her Mom and Dad. Being only 7 years old, she has no problems with smiling and waving at me to show her support.  Her parents make an attempt to stifle her outburst in such a formal environment, but I can tell that their hearts are not really in it.  The sight of her smiling and happy face boosts my mood considerably.

There are not very many people on the Prosecution side of the courthouse, but Grumpy Doctor No Voodoo Magic Franks is there with two other lawyer looking types in suits.  What are they doing here?

The official start of the ‘trial’ or hearing as it is called involved the judge reading a few pieces of paper for the first five minutes or so. He scowls and harrumphs a few times while he is reading. Additionally, he occasionally looks up to glare at the District Attorney or me. Well, it looks like a glare to me. He does this act just enough to make everyone uncomfortable, but not long enough to make them outright upset.  

Finally, he sets the papers down, pauses for a few seconds to collect his thoughts and looks directly at me. “Young lady, I must admit that this is probably the most unusual case that I have ever had in my courtroom.  It is not often that the DHS, FBI, DMA and Department of Justice are on the side of the accused. First of all, let us begin with the laundry list of charges.”

Oh crap. That doesn’t sound good.

I glance over to my attentive and very competent looking defense attorneys. Well, if they don’t look worried, I guess that I don’t need to worry either.

“Miss Wilson, you have been charged with Resisting Arrest, Making a Terroristic Threat, Grand Larceny, two counts of Attempted Murder and the newest addition to the list, Practicing Medicine without a License.”

He pauses for a second with the last charge and glances over at Doctor Franks and his group before looking back at me.  “Now, for the last charge, how do you plead?”

Talk about a surprise question!  The nearest attorney on my side whispers my answer and motions for me to stand to address the judge.  “Your honor, I plead not guilty.”

He appears a little surprised by my plea. I don’t see how he could be surprised because doesn’t everyone plead that way?  “Do you or your council care to explain why? The evidence seems rather overwhelming to support that charge.”

I can’t help but notice the satisfied smile from Dr. Franks, but the attorney next to me stands and clears his throat. “Yes, your honor.  Miss Wilson was not practicing medicine when she treated Office Reynolds and Officer Grant.”

Judge Davis raises his eyebrow to express his confusion while Doctor Franks’ jaw drops to the floor and he makes a funny gasping fish face.  “Care to explain that statement Mr. Lawrence because the evidence clearly supports the claim that she treated Officer Reynolds and Officer Grant. Did she or did she not treat them?”

I don’t see how I can get out of this because I did treat them, but Mr. Lawrence remains completely calm and relaxed. He even manages an almost imperceptible smile. “Yes, your honor, she did treat Officer Reynolds and Officer Grant, but she did not use Medicine as it is defined to treat them.”

Judge Davis looks like he is a tiger and about to pounce on a tasty deer or something. “Explain to me how Miss Wilson managed to treat Officer Reynolds and Officer Grant without using Medicine.”

Mr. Lawrence simple nods his head in acknowledgement. “Your honor, she used Magic, which the field of Medicine does not recognize as Medicine.”

One of the men with Doctor Franks stands with outrage. “Your honor! I must reject this claim! Miss Wilson most certainly, umm...”

Judge Davis turns an angry gaze on the man. “Yes, Mr. Dearborn?”

Mr. Dearborn withers under Judge Davis’ gaze and he glances to his partner for support. “Nothing your honor, sorry.”

“Overruled.” Judge Davis says as he returns his attention back to me. “Miss Wilson, did you use magic to treat Officer Reynolds and Officer Grant?”

Now, I am really confused. I look over to Mr. Lawrence for advice and he nods his head yes. “Yes, your honor. I did.”

Judge Davis nods, then glances over to Mr. Dearborn and then, back to Mr. Lawrence. “Is there a License to Practice Magic that Miss Wilson may be in violation of?”

Mr. Dearborn looks confused and lost as he looks over to his partner for support.  His partner merely shrugs his shoulders in response.  Mr. Lawrence makes a show of consulting with his team. “No your honor, there is no License to Practice Magic issued by any agency in the United States.”

“Mr. Dearborn, while your organization may be able to make a case of this issue and it is certainly within your rights, I view your case against Miss Wilson to be flimsy at best.  How do you and your client wish to proceed?”

Dr. Franks does not look happy, but after a quick whisper conference with his attorneys, he slumps into his seat with defeat.  “Your honor, we wish to withdraw with prejudice our claim of Practicing Medicine without a License.”

Judge Davis smiles at the men as they resume their seat. “Excellent decision, gentlemen, because I for one would not want to be in your shoes if that case ever made it to trial.”  

His somewhat jovial mood fades as he turns his gaze back to me before turning to study the District Attorney. “Now, for the criminal charges, Mr. Roseland, I understand that you wish to modify the charges?”

“Yes your honor. After meeting with Miss Wilson, speaking with her alleged victims, the FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Brown, DMA Special Agent Helligan and the LAPD Chief of Police Falk, I would like to drop most of the charges against Miss Wilson and emend the two counts of Attempted Murder to two counts of Reckless Endangerment.”

Judge Davis handles the game plan change with aplomb. “I see Mr. Roseland. Once again, most unusual. I anticipate that you are seeking a specific sentence for Miss Wilson?”

“Yes, your honor. I believe that Miss Wilson is genuinely regretful for her actions and she may even benefit from some prison time, but the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security believes that she may benefit more by serving her country and I agree with their assessment.”

“I see, and what exactly do you propose?”

Mr. Roseland smiles at me and then, turns back to address Judge Davis. “Miss Wilson appears to suffer from a slight case of impulse control and for the two counts of Reckless Endangerment, I propose that Miss Wilson be offered the choice of serving 60 days in prison followed by one year of community service or be allowed to enlist with the FBI. The FBI has stated that they would be interested in training her and if she is able to successfully complete FBI boot camp, I would suggest that her sentence be commuted and her criminal record expunged.”

“Miss Wilson, what do you think of those options?” Judge Davis asks.

I nervously stand and sneak a quick glance back at all the people standing behind me.  Almost all of them are smiling or appear to be happy with the possible outcome.  “Umm, your honor, the FBI sounds like a good idea for me to try.”

Judge Davis sternly studies me and I have to fight the urge to smooth my skirt and not meet his gaze. “What you did young lady was a very near miss. You do understand that?”

“Yes, your honor.” I say, simply and with complete sincerity.

“You could have easily killed the officers and then, we would all be having an entirely different conversation right now.” Judge Davis says as he looks around the half-full courtroom.

“Yes, your honor. I know that and I’m sorry.” I say as my eyes start to get a little moist.  I better not start crying right now.

“I believe you and the DA believes you.  Your willingness to turn yourself in and use your powers at great personal risk to help the officers you injured speaks volumes in your defense.  As a result, I am willing to follow Mr. Roseland’s proposal since I also agree that putting you in a jail cell would be a waste.  As a result, I am releasing you into the custody of the FBI for training and evaluation with your record to be commuted upon successful completion of said training.”

My head is still reeling from all the changes and I feel a little dizzy.  “T-Thank you, your honor.” I manage to stammer out.

Judge Davis chuckles. “Well, don’t thank me yet.  I’m sure that the FBI will keep you busy.” He pauses to look down at something on his desk and then, he looks over to Special Agent in Charge Brown and the female FBI agent at his side. “Special Agent Rhian Medina?”

The woman stands and politely nods her head.

“I believe that Miss Wilson is to be handed over to you so that you can escort her to the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia where she will begin her training, is that correct?”

Special Agent Medina nods her head. “Yes, your honor.”

“Okay, then, Miss Wilson is all yours, Special Agent Medina.  Dismissed!” He says as he bangs his gavel.

I apprehensively turn to face Special Agent Medina and now that I can actively study her, I am surprised by how young she appears to be. She looks like she might be 21, if that.  Is she a metahuman too?  In addition to her apparent age, she does not appear to be happy about being made my babysitter.  

I walk towards her with the intent of politely shaking her hand, but she spins on her heels.

“Follow me.” Special Agent Medina says brusquely as she motions for me to follow.

What is her problem?


--The End